


Third Time's the Charm

by Maybe44



Category: Hudson & Rex (TV)
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Tropes, charah - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:35:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28649130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maybe44/pseuds/Maybe44
Summary: Another late night trip to a crimescene leads Charlie and Sarah to being stuck... again!
Relationships: Charlie Hudson/Sarah Truong
Comments: 12
Kudos: 20





	Third Time's the Charm

**Author's Note:**

> With this story I would like to continue the wonderful tradition of Charlie and Sarah being stuck somewhere together. 😉 After the S01E07 "Over Ice" and S02E14 "Tunnel Vision" I was wondering what Season 3 might have in store in this regard, so here we go! 🙃

"The crimescene is located on the 8th floor." Detective Charlie Hudson explained, his eyes scanning the entrance hall of the otherwise deserted office building. "So - stairs or elevator?" 

The question was directed at Chief of Forensics Sarah Truong who considered this for a moment. "I'm always up for a athletic challenge, you know. But at this hour and with those bags..." she pointed to her baggage consisting of two bags, heavily packed with her forensic equipment. 

"Agreed." Charlie pushed the button to call the elevator down. Rex groaned and tilted his head to the side. "All right buddy, take the stairs already. You know the way."

Rex barked twice and took off.

Charlie smiled after his dog. They had been here before this morning when the young secretary of a lawyer had been found dead in her office. Since Sarah had been busy at court at that time, her team had carried out the forensic sweep. During the day, new information had emerged, which had led Charlie and Sarah to another late visit on the scene. 

Sarah stifled a yawn. "You know, in my next life i'm looking for a job with normal 9 to 5 working hours."

Charlie looked at her apologetically after he had checked his watch. "Yeah, sorry for dragging you out here that late. I'll make it up to you. Lunch is on me tomorrow, 'kay?"

Sarah shook her head in resignation but smiled nonetheless. Who could resist Charlie's puppy dog eyes, anyway? 

With its characteristic sound the elevator finally announced its arrival and the massive steel doors opened.  
Charlie, with a gallant bow, let Sarah step into the narrow cabin first. "Ladies first."

Sarah chuckled and placed her bags on the floor in the rear area of the elevator. Sighing, she crossed her arms in front of her body and leaned on the wall.

Charlie pressed the 8th floor button and the door closed soundly behind him. He stood next to Sarah and copied her posture. When the elevator started moving upwards, he nudged her gently with his shoulder. "Been a hard day, huh?"

Sarah shrugged. "Judge Wagner can be pretty demanding from time to time."

Thinking of the old, greyhaired Judge shortly before retirement, the detective gave her a crooked smile. "Ah, come on, we both now Judge Wagner has a soft spot for you. I'm sure he handled you with velvet gloves as always."

"Do I detect a note of jealousy there?" she replied somewhat sassily.

"Of course I'm jealous. Who wouldn't be jealous of a guy who gets to spend the whole day with my favorite girl?" Charlie dead-panned.

Sarah unavailingly tried to hide the blush creeping up her cheeks. But before she could even think about answering to Charlie, the elevator gave a loud groan, jerked abruptly and then stopped altogether. The neon tubes flickered and went dark. Sarah screamed in shock and instinctively grabbed Charlie's arm. Seconds later the emergency lighting came on. The elevator, though, didn't continue its journey.

When Sarah let go of his arm, Charlie immediately missed her touch. She threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "Oh, this is just great! Just what I need today." 

Charlie smiled reassuringly. "That's probably just a short blackout. I'm sure everything will work just fine in a few minutes."

Unfortunately he shouldn't be right. Five minutes later they had pressed every single button, but the elevator hadn't moved an inch. Even the emergency button had not worked out, as they couldn't get security on speaker. The massive steel door couldn't be opened by hand, either.

Slowly Sarah slid down the wall until she came to sit on the floor, sighing deeply in the process. Charlie looked down at her and decided to take a seat as well. Who knew how much time they would have to spend in their prison cell in the end! So they sat next to each other, shoulders and hips almost touching, legs stretched out. Neither spoke a word for a while, until Charlie broke the silence. "You know, Rex is still out there in the building. He will get some help eventually. And I told Jesse we were going to check out the crimescene once more. He will notice our disappearance sooner or later for sure."

"Mhm." Sarah nodded slowly but otherwise stayed silent. Suddenly she began to giggle and soon enough shook with laughter.

Charlie looked at her bewildered. "Should I be worried about that sudden outburst of happiness?" He asked with a amused smile. 

"You know, this seems to be becoming a habit. You and me being stuck somewhere late at night, Rex going for help..."

Charlie laughed at that too. "Yeah, but you have to admit, we've been stuck in worse places."

Both remembered those shared experiences vividly. Charlie remembered holding Sarah tightly in his arms in the ice cube, he remembered feeling her heart beating close to his chest, desperately trying to keep her from losing consciousness. 

Sarah, on the other hand, thought back to holding Charlie's hand in hers in the collapsed tunnel, telling him about how she loved working with him and Rex. The memory of the grip of his hand slowly becoming cold and feeble, of Charlie becoming silent at once, almost made her shudder, so Sarah hurried to nod in affirmation. "Definitely. Almost freezing to death, being buried alive... This, however, almost feels like a vacation."

Charlie chuckled and stole another glance at the woman sitting next to him, her head now resting on the wall. A small smile played on her lips and she looked stunningly beautiful. Her dark, shiny hair framed her face since she wore it in loose waves over her shoulders this evening. His eyes wandered south, down her exposed neck, to her delicate golden chain playing around her collarbone. He noticed her neckline to be a little lower than usually and he came to ask himself what it would be like to feel her soft and smooth skin under his fingertips for once.

Her nose wrinkled in confusion when she caught him staring and her voice tore him from his thoughts. "What?" 

"Huh?" Charlie startled with a sense of having been caught out.

Sarah looked up to him expectantly. 

"I...um... I was thinking that those two times being stuck somewhere before had their positive sides as well."

"Which would be..?" Sarah asked, her head tilted to the side questioningly.

"It had been an elaborate ruse to get you to snuggle with me or at least to get you to hold my hand." Charlie murmured, taking his courage in both hands.

The smile on her face deepend and her brown eyes sparkled while she considered this for a second. "Yeah, that was nice. Well, third time's the charm, you know."

Now it was the detective's turn to smile playfully and to shift a little bit closer towards her. "Does that mean you wouldn't mind...?"

"Why don't you try and find out for yourself." Sarah whispered, her eyes darting from his eyes to his lips and back.

"I'd love to," Charlie breathed out, his eyes locking with hers as he shot her a hopeful and crooked smile which was returned coyly.

Ever so slowly he leaned over and, when Sarah didn't recoil, after hesitating a moment, gently brushed his lips over hers, but didn't kiss her yet. 

She sighed in frustration, and he gave in gladly, slowly, tenderly kissing her for the first time, savouring her delicate taste and breathing in her scent, a delicate fragrance of vanilla and pure Sarah. Finding this combination purely intoxicating, he soon enough pressed his lips to hers in a kiss far too passionate for a workplace elevator.   
Charlie tangled his hands in her hair and held the back of her head to keep her close. Without breaking the kiss, he let his hands move down on her waist to pull her onto his lap and even closer to his body, while her hands drew soft circles on his back. They continued kissing passionately until they had to break apart for some air, as they were both breathing heavily. 

"That was...wow."

"Yeah... yeah it was." Charlie cupped Sarah's face with one hand, still pressing her against him with the other. He held onto her like his life depended on eliminating every millimeter of space between them.

When he leaned over to kiss her again it was a kiss so tender, so loving, it made both their bodies tingle and suffuse with warmth. Sarah's hands had found their way to Charlie's neck and held him close, her thumbs softly caressing his smooth skin. Charlie's hands slowly found their way down to her waist again, where they urgently tugged at the hem of her blouse. Just as his fingertips had finally found her bare skin, making her tremble with the gentle touch, the neon tubes lightened up again and the elevator started moving downwards with a groan. 

Charlie and Sarah instantaneously jumped apart, both straightening their clothes. When the door opened just a few seconds later on the ground floor, they were standing innocently, but with telltale flushed cheeks, side by side. 

"Hey folks. Sorry I took so long." Jesse Mills stood in the entrance hall grinning broadly with Rex sitting by his side. "That was one hell of a nasty power failure. Hope you weren't bored to death inside this elevator?"

Charlie and Sarah looked at each other and tender but somewhat shy smiles appeared on both faces, when their eyes met.

"Um, no, not at all." Charlie hastened to assure. 

"Oh, no, we were just fine." Sarah agreed hastily as well.

Jesse eyed his colleagues warily. "O-kay... You both look a little messed up... So, care to share what you did in there all the time?"

"Um, no?"

"Nope."

Charlie and Sarah answered in unison after having shared another intense look, communication passing in silence between them. 

"You do know I could always check CCTV footage, don't you?" Jesse said smugly while Charlie leaned over to press the 8th floor button again. "Still not tired of riding the elevator, huh?" the young tech added while the door closed on his nose.  
"Apparently not." He answered to himself and turned to face the big german shepherd. "Told you this would work out just fine! The plan's ingeniousness was in its simplicity."

Rex barked approvingly, tilted his head to the side and lifted his paw.

"Yeah, high five, buddy! We did a really good job giving both of them a nudge in the right direction tonight!"

Rex barked again and turned towards the stairwell to follow his friends. 

"Really? Now that the work is done you just leave me here? I might remember that the next time you come to me for help!" Jesse shouted after the dog.

Inside the elevator Charlie turned to face Sarah again, their lips finding each other as if magically drawn together. This time they continued kissing, both acutely unaware of the elevator coming to a stop on floor eight. 

Neither of them cared about getting caught anymore.

\- The End


End file.
